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4 de diciembre de 2024 – El Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) y el Centro para los Derechos Humanos y el Ambiente (CEDHA) presentaron un amicus curiae ante la Corte Constitucional de Ecuador, proporcionando evidencia científica y argumentos legales para destacar la importancia de priorizar el caso emblemático de los Mecheros.

En 2020, nueve niñas de la Amazonía ecuatoriana demandaron al Estado exigiendo la eliminación de 447 mecheros que queman gas fósil de manera continua las 24 horas del día, emitiendo metano y otros contaminantes. Las demandantes argumentaron que esta práctica contamina el medio ambiente y daña la salud de las comunidades cercanas, afectando desproporcionadamente a las mujeres.

El 7 de mayo de 2020, el tribunal de primera instancia rechazó la acción constitucional, considerando insuficiente la evidencia de las violaciones de los derechos reclamados. Las demandantes apelaron esta decisión y, el 29 de julio de 2021, la Corte Provincial de Sucumbíos falló a su favor. En su sentencia, la Corte ordenó al Estado eliminar los mecheros, dando prioridad a aquellos cercanos a centros poblados en un plazo de 18 meses. Respecto a los demás mecheros, la Corte estableció que debían eliminarse de manera progresiva, culminando en diciembre de 2030.

El plazo de 18 meses estipulado en la decisión expiró en marzo de 2023, pero hasta la fecha los mecheros siguen operando a pocos metros de escuelas y comunidades y su número ha aumentado. Ante esta situación, las niñas demandantes se han visto obligadas a recurrir a la Corte Constitucional de Ecuador para exigir el cumplimiento y la definición más precisa de la obligación del Estado de cesar estas prácticas dañinas, limitando la discrecionalidad del gobierno en el cumplimiento de la sentencia.

El amicus curiae de IGSD y CEDHA busca recordar a la Corte Constitucional que la práctica de quemar y ventear gas fósil emite cantidades significativas de metano, un gas de efecto invernadero con un impacto 80 veces mayor que el CO₂ en un periodo de 20 años. En 2023, Ecuador quemó más de 1582 millones de metros cúbicos de gas, un preocupante aumento del 41% en comparación con 2020.

El escrito también subraya que las emisiones de metano no solo agravan la crisis climática, sino que violan los derechos humanos al afectar desproporcionadamente a las comunidades cercanas, especialmente a mujeres y niños. El metano y los contaminantes como el carbono negro y el óxido de nitrógeno tienen impactos devastadores en la salud y el medio ambiente.

Las investigaciones más recientes confirman que reducir el metano es la única forma de frenar el calentamiento en la próxima década y evitar, o al menos retrasar, puntos de inflexión irreversibles que podrían tener impactos catastróficos.

El caso de los Mecheros representa una oportunidad histórica para que la Corte Constitucional de Ecuador oriente al Estado en el cumplimiento de sus obligaciones climáticas y de derechos humanos. “Reducir las emisiones de metano es la forma más rápida y efectiva de mitigar el calentamiento global en esta década,” señaló Romina Picolotti, presidenta del directorio de CEDHA.

“Si no frenamos el calentamiento rápidamente, los bucles de retroalimentación climática se auto amplificarán y llevarán al planeta más allá de los primeros cinco puntos de inflexión,” advirtió Durwood Zaelke, presidente de IGSD.

CEDHA e IGSD también destacan que eliminar los mecheros es técnicamente viable y ya se ha implementado en otros países, estableciendo un estándar global que Ecuador puede adoptar para proteger tanto a su población como al clima global.

La decisión de la Corte en este caso podría sentar un precedente crucial en la lucha contra el cambio climático y la defensa de los derechos humanos.

Para obtener más información, comuníquese con Sebastián Luengo en sluengo@igsd.org.

4 December 2024 – The Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) and the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) filed an amicus curiae before Ecuador’s Constitutional Court, providing scientific evidence and compelling legal arguments to emphasize the need to prioritize the landmark ‘Mecheros case’ on fossil gas flaring.

In 2020, nine girls from the Ecuadorian Amazon sued the State in what is known as the Mecheros case, demanding the elimination of 447 flare stacks that burn fossil gas continuously, emitting methane and other co-pollutants. The plaintiffs argued that this practice pollutes the environment and damages the health of the surrounding villages, disproportionately affecting women.

On May 7, 2020, the Court rejected the constitutional action. The plaintiffs appealed and on July 29, 2021, the Provincial Court of Sucumbíos ruled in their favor. In its judgment, the Court ordered the State to eliminate the flare stacks, prioritizing those near population centers within 18 months. For other flare stacks, the Court determined they should be eliminated progressively by December 2030.

In March 2023, the 18-month period stipulated in the decision expired, but to date, the stacks continue to operate near schools and villages, and their numbers continue to increase. Given the situation, the plaintiff girls have been forced to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Ecuador to enforce and define more precisely the obligation of the State to cease its harmful actions, limiting the discretion of the government while complying with the ruling.

IGSD and CEDHA’s amicus brief hopes to remind the Constitutional Court that the practice of flaring and venting fossil gas emits significant amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas with an impact 80 times greater than CO₂ over a 20-year timeframe. In 2023, Ecuador burned more than 1.582 billion cubic meters of gas, a concerning 41% increase compared to 2020.

The amicus brief further highlights that methane emissions both exacerbate the climate crisis and violate human rights by disproportionately affecting nearby communities, especially women and children. Methane and co-emitted pollutants such as black carbon and nitrous oxides have devastating impacts on health and the environment.

Latest research confirms that cutting methane is the only way to slow down warming in the next decade or two and avoid or at least delay irreversible tipping points that otherwise would have catastrophic impacts.

The Mecheros case represents a historic opportunity for Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to guide the State in fulfilling its human rights and climate obligations. “Reducing methane emissions is the fastest and most effective way to mitigate global warming in this decade,” said Romina Picolotti, president of the board of CEDHA.

“If we don’t slow warming quickly, the self-amplifying climate feedback loops will take over and push the planet past the first five tipping points,” said Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD. 

CEDHA and IGSD also emphasize that eliminating flaring is technically feasible and has already been implemented in other countries, setting a global standard that Ecuador can adopt to protect both its population and the global climate.

The Court’s decision in this case could set a critical precedent in the fight against climate change and the defense of human rights.

For additional information contact Sebastian Luengo at sluengo@igsd.org. 

Washington DC, 19 November 2024 – U.S. automotive manufacturer Ford Motor Company submitted an application to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to list R290 (propane) as acceptable for use in automotive thermal management systems under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program.

“Congratulations to Ford on this important step toward the introduction of secondary loop mobile climate conditioning systems with the best possible life-cycle climate performance,” said Dr. Stephen O. Andersen, Director of Research at the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD). “We urge EPA to expedite approval of this important application.”

Ford along with other automakers, parts suppliers, and service industry experts have been working together for years under the SAE International (SAE) Thermal Management Refrigerant Cooperative Research Program to identify better refrigerants suitable for use in next-generation electric vehicles equipped with heat pumps. IGSD was the first and only public interest environmental organization to join the R&D effort.

“IGSD is proud of our decades-long partnership with the automotive community developing best available technology to avoid climate tipping points,” said Kristen N. Taddonio, Senior Technical Advisor to IGSD. “The new R290 in secondary loop architecture will safely cool and heat electric vehicle occupants while increasing electric vehicle driving range, which is key to satisfied customers.”

The SAE cooperative research program has spent years carefully evaluating the safety, technical, performance, and environmental characteristics of half a dozen refrigerants with low global warming potentials (GWPs). R290 emerged as a leading contender due to its superior energy efficiency and cooling and heating capacity performance, low refrigerant cost, freedom from restrictive patents on production or use of R290 in automotive systems, and its status as a non-PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance) refrigerant alternative.

R290 is significantly more flammable than the automotive refrigerant most commonly used in new vehicles, R1234yf. However, previous work on R152a automotive air conditioning systems—which is also more flammable than R1234yf—demonstrated that the increased flammability could be mitigated with a secondary loop system architecture. Furthermore, an IGSD-Tata Motors-Mahle demonstration project sponsored by the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) proved that efficiency improvements were possible with innovative secondary loop system design.

A secondary loop, or “indirect” heat pump system improves safety by keeping the flammable refrigerant outside the passenger compartment in the primary refrigerant loop. It has the additional advantage of minimizing the amount of refrigerant required per vehicle. Heat or cold is transferred to a secondary fluid, such as glycol, that is circulated in the passenger cabin and throughout the vehicle in a “secondary loop.”

The CCAC-sponsored project went on to win the 2020 SAE Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award. Crucially, the project also led to the update of the automotive risk assessment for a more flammable refrigerant and resulted in the update of over a dozen automotive industry standards for system safety, engineering, design, and servicing equipment for flammable refrigerants.   

“The work we did with IGSD on secondary loop systems and higher flammability refrigerants really laid the foundation,” said SAE Cooperative Research Program steering committee member Tim Craig. “Comparing the flammability of HFO-1234yf vs. R152a vs. R290 has been helpful, and the updated R152a risk assessment funded by IGSD was the starting point.”

  • For more information on the SAE International Thermal Management Refrigerant Cooperative Research Program, contact: Mark Klavon Mark.Klavon@sae.org
  • For more information on the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program, visit: www.epa.gov/snap

8 November 2024 – In the run-up to the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, China enacted the Energy Law, which will enter into force 1 January 2025. The Energy Law is an overarching national statute that promotes and coordinates among the key government priorities for China’s energy sector, including high-quality energy development, energy security, low-carbon and sustainable development, and carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

The energy sector plays a significant role in China’s climate change policies. According to official Chinese government data, emissions from the energy sector are responsible for 77.9% of China’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. When broken down by gas, China’s energy sector accounted for 86.5% of its carbon dioxide emissions, 44.7% of its methane emissions, and 21.5% of its nitrous oxide emissions in 2018.

Coal is a fundamental safeguard for China’s energy supply system in the Energy Law. This reflects China’s growing emphasis on energy security. Furthermore, the Energy Law provides that China will increase the domestic exploration of oil and gas resources and promote the large-scale development of tight oil and gas, shale oil, shale gas, coalbed methane, and other unconventional oil and gas resources. In response to risks in the international energy market, the Energy Law also signals China’s promotion of energy-sector international investment and trade cooperation.

Despite the focus in the Energy Law on fossil fuel and energy security, it is also significant that China will continue to advance clean and low-carbon energy sector development. The Energy Law provides that China will do so by prioritizing the development and utilization of renewable energy, promoting the clean and efficient utilization of fossil fuels, and improving energy utilization efficiency.

More generally, the Energy Law lays out key policies and mechanisms for government regulation of the energy sector, including:

  • Formulating energy plans to guide and regulate energy development at the national and local levels;
  • Developing energy development and utilization policies to optimize the structure of energy supply and consumption, promote clean and low-carbon development of the energy sector, and improve energy efficiency;
  • Accelerating the establishment of a nationally unified market for energy transactions;
  • Strengthening the energy reserve system and emergency response mechanism in order to ensure a reliable and effective energy supply; and
  • Supporting the advancement of science and technology in order to promote the high-quality development of the energy sector.

All countries urgently need to cut the emissions of short-lived climate pollutants and protect carbon sinks to slow warming in the near term. See examples of additional IGSD resources below on the urgency and opportunities to mitigate the short-lived climate pollutants, especially methane emissions from the energy sector:

Hydrofluorocarbon-23 (HFC-23), also known as trifluoromethane (CHF3), is a very potent greenhouse gas largely unintentionally created, for instance, as a byproduct during the production of fluorinated compounds and chemical feedstocks, including hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22. HFC-23 also has limited commercial uses, such as an ultra-low temperature refrigerant for specialized storage and manufacturing. HFC-23 has a 20-year global warming potential (GWP) of 12,400 and a 100-year GWP of 14,700, meaning that one kilogram of HFC-23 released into the atmosphere will trap 14,700 times more heat over a 100-year period compared to one kilogram of carbon dioxide.

HFC-23 is a controlled substance under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol) via the Kigali Amendment thereto. Rather than providing a phasedown or phaseout schedule, the Montreal Protocol requires Parties to ensure that their emissions of HFC-23 are destroyed to the extent practicable, using technologies that the Parties approve, and to comply with certain HFC-23 reporting obligations. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are now being phased down under the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment, with the potential to avoid up to 0.5 °C of warming by 2100. Cutting HFC-23 emissions will provide additional mitigation not included in the 0.5 °C calculation.

Because efforts to reduce HFC-23 emissions are critical in the global climate emergency and recent reports include references to China’s HFC-23 emissions, this briefing highlights scientific findings and provides a timeline recounting China’s policy developments relevant to HFC-23 emissions control.

Read the full brief here.

8 October 2024 – The IGSD Resource Guide on Preventing the Dumping of Inefficient Cooling Equipment provides information and resources for government representatives and their advisors, researchers, academics, non-profit, philanthropic and other nongovernmental organizations, and other citizens to understand the practice of environmentally harmful dumping of new but energy-inefficient cooling equipment that uses high global-warming-potential refrigerants. The Resource Guide also provides insights for those working in other product areas, such as heavy-duty vehicles, involving environmentally harmful product dumping in vulnerable developing countries. The Resource Guide is available here.

  • Section 1 defines terms and reviews how dumping damages the stratospheric ozone layer, forces climate change, endangers public health, and other harms arising from the practice. 
  • Section 2 reviews relevant decisions of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund Executive Committee.
  • Section 3 provides insights into the origins of the use of the word “dumping” from Montreal Protocol meeting reports as early as 1993 during the transition from chlorofluorocarbons. 
  • Section 4 covers international and country-led initiatives highlighting the importance of preventing dumping and enabling vulnerable developing countries to gain access to life- and planet-saving next-generation cooling technology, with summaries of the Wilmington Declaration from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States (2024) and initiatives of the Climate & Clean Air Coalition. 
  • Section 5 catalogs technical reports, workshop proceedings, and research papers contributing to understanding environmental dumping practices, and
  • Section 6 includes examples of media coverage of environmental dumping.

On 10 September 2024, China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC) under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) held a workshop on controlling emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). The workshop is an initial step, for N2O, in implementing the goal of “researching the development of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emission control action plans” in China’s Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting the Construction of a Beautiful China [关于全面推进美丽中国建设的意见] (2023).

Attendees at the workshop included officials from MEE’s Department of Climate Change and representatives from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, China Academy of Environmental Sciences, China Academy of Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, China Automotive Technology and Research Center, and the Beijing Drainage Group. The workshop participants identified vital follow-up issues, including establishing an N2O Research Alliance to facilitate exchanges on N2O emissions control among relevant stakeholders, including industry associations, research institutes, and enterprises and to support the government’s non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions work by sharing relevant research outcomes.

According to the Chinese government’s official data, China’s N2O emissions were 0.52 GtCO2e (1.9 Mt N2O) in 2018, with the agricultural sector contributing the most emissions (49.2%), followed by industrial processes accounting for 23% of emissions. Agricultural emissions in China began slowing in 2016 as a result of policies such as the Action Plan for Reaching Zero Growth in Fertilizer Use by 2020, which aimed to optimize the use of nitrogen fertilizers. China also established a goal of improving the efficiency of chemical fertilizers and pesticides from 40% in 2020 to 43% by 2025. Additionally, keeping in mind that N2O can be produced from the combined nitrification-denitrification process that occurs on nitrogen in manure, China set a target for comprehensive reutilization of livestock and poultry manure to increase from 78% in 2023 to over 80% nationwide by 2025, and over 85% by 2030.

Contrastingly, N2O emissions from industry and energy have increased rapidly since 2005 (Liang et al., 2024). China is the largest source of N2O emissions from adipic acid manufacturing, with 11 plants responsible for about 93% of global sectoral emissions (Davidson & Winiwarter, 2023). It is estimated that China can achieve 61% of its industrial N2O abatement potential at break-even prices below US$10/tCO2e (U.S. EPA, 2019).

This presents an important climate mitigation opportunity for China to develop and implement an N2O emission control action plan. Such policy action would also fulfill China’s commitment to “study and formulate nitrous oxide reduction plans for key industries” in its Nationally Determined Contributions submitted pursuant to the Paris Agreement. It is also noteworthy that the U.S. and China indicated they “intend to cooperate on respective measures to manage N2O emissions” in the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis (2023). At the September 2024 meeting of the U.S.-China Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s, the U.S. and China reaffirmed their intention to jointly host a Methane and Other Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases Summit at COP29 under the Presidency of Azerbaijan. At the White House Super Pollutants Summit in 2024, U.S. industry announced action to reduce industrial N2O emissions by over 50% by 2025. China’s revived voluntary greenhouse gas emission trading mechanism may also be deployed to incentivize industry action on N2O emission mitigation by helping finance the installation of industrial N2O abatement technologies.

Additional IGSD resources and China policy briefings:

New Delhi / Washington DC, August 7, 2024 — The Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) today announced a new partnership to investigate the economic impacts of Arctic ice melt on India, its economy and global impact. This collaboration aims to leverage both organizations’ expertise to deliver insights into the intersection of climate change and economic stability.

IGSD and NCAER will develop comprehensive economic models to assess how the Arctic changes, particularly with the loss of sea ice, affecting India’s monsoon variability, directly impacting agricultural outputs in India, and its overall impact on the economic health of the country. The research will also explore the broader implications of the Northern Sea Route on global trade and the Indian economy.

Methane and other short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) significantly contribute to Arctic warming, with methane emissions anywhere impacting climate and health globally. IGSD’s research has shown that reducing methane emissions by 45% by 2030 can avoid almost 0.3 °C of warming globally and 0.5 °C in the Arctic by the 2040s.

A detailed single-country multi-sector Computable General Equilibrium model for India will be done to quantify the impact of monsoon instability on agriculture, food security, and infrastructure. This will include running policy scenarios to understand the potential economic implications by mid-century. In addition, a global trade model will be developed to analyze the impact of the Northern Sea Route on India’s economy, considering the effects of Arctic sea ice loss and its contribution to global warming.  

Reducing methane and SLCP emissions is critical for mitigating these impacts, offering the fastest opportunity to slow warming by 2030 and improving the resilience of economies worldwide. Reducing methane and short-lived climate pollutants and understanding the intersection of Arctic ice melting-induced climate change and agro- and socio-economic stability is crucial for future planning and sustainability in line with SDG 13.

Durwood Zaelke, President of IGSD, stated, “this partnership represents a significant step forward in understanding the far-reaching impacts of Arctic changes. By combining our expertise, we aim to provide policymakers with the critical data they need to make informed decisions that protect the planet, as well as the economy.”

Zerin Osho, Director of the India Program at IGSD, further added, “it is essential for India to understand the impact of loss of Arctic Sea Ice on its economy to understand the emerging role of Indian foreign policy in the protection of the Arctic to secure India’s long-term strategic interests. This will help India’s strategic position and ensure India’s path to becoming a true leader of the Global South.”

SanjibPohit, Professor and Lead Researcher for this study at NCAER, added, “the economic stability of India is intricately linked to climatic patterns. Our collaboration with IGSD will help us build robust models to predict and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, particularly those stemming from Arctic ice melt, on our agriculture and economy.”

About the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development:

IGSD works to ensure fast cuts to the non-carbon dioxide climate pollutants and other fast climate mitigation strategies to slow near-term warming and self-amplifying climate feedbacks, avoid or at least delay catastrophic tipping points, and limit global temperature rise. Its mission is to promote fast climate mitigation to slow near-term warming and self-propagating climate feedbacks, avoid or at least delay catastrophic climate and societal tipping points, and limit global temperatures to 1.5 °C—or at least keep this temperature guardrail in sight and limit overshoot.

About National Council of Applied Economic Research:

NCAER, the National Council of Applied Economic Research, is India’s oldest and largest independent economic think tank, set up in 1956 to inform policy choices for both the public and private sectors. Over the past 65 years, NCAER has served the nation well with its rich offering of applied policy research, unique data sets, evaluations, and policy inputs to Central and State governments, corporate India, the media, and the citizenry. It is one of a few independent think tanks worldwide that combines rigorous economic analysis and policy outreach with deep data collection capabilities, particularly for large-scale household surveys. NCAER is led by its Director General, Dr Poonam Gupta, and it is governed by an independent Governing Body currently chaired by Mr Nandan M. Nilekani.

For more information, contact Sunandini Seth, IGSD, +1 313 737 7769, sseth@igsd.org

30 July 2024- China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) released a draft regulatory amendment and an emission trading methodology to strengthen methane emissions reduction in the coal mine sector. Both documents are open for public comment until the dates specified below and may be formally promulgated in the coming months, subject to MEE internal processes. Further details on these two documents are listed below.

  1. Emissions Standard for Coalbed Methane/Coal Mine Gas (Draft Amendment for Public Comments) (open for public comment until 31 August 2024)

China’s current (pre-amendment) Emissions Standard for Coalbed Methane/Coal Mine Gas (GB 21522-2008) was issued in 2008, prohibiting direct emissions of coal mine gas with a concentration of 30% or more. Key highlights from the 2024 draft amendment of this emissions standard include:

  • Adding requirements to ensure the safety of transportation, utilization, and discharge of low-concentration coal mine gas in accordance with GB 40881 (the 2021 standard for security system design of low-concentration gas pipeline transportation);
  • Requiring that coal mine gas with a concentration of 8% or more (the draft amendment also clarifies that methane concentration refers to the hourly average concentration) and extraction purity at 10 cubic meters per minute or more shall not be directly emitted;
  • Encouraging reutilization of coal mine gas with a concentration below 8%;
  • Requiring monitoring of methane concentrations of coalbed methane, high- and low-concentration coal mine gas, and ventilation air methane with details on monitoring locations and related technical specifications; and
  • Providing an exemption for direct emissions of coal mine gas in emergency situations.

If promulgated as proposed, the amended emissions standard would strengthen China’s regulatory requirements on methane emissions from the coal mine sector. However, the amended emissions standard applies only to new and existing coal mines. Therefore, this leaves a policy gap to be filled with respect to methane emissions from abandoned coal mines. Abandoned coal mines in China remain a significant source of methane emissions, as reflected in studies such as Gao et al., 2020, and Kang et al., 2023.

2.   Greenhouse Gas Voluntary Emission-Reduction Project Methodology for Utilization of Low-Concentration Gas and Ventilation Air Methane in the Coal Mine Sector (Draft for Comments) (open for public comment until 12 August 2024)

This draft Methodology applies to projects that process coal mine gas with a concentration of 8% or less and ventilation air methane using flameless oxidation technology to produce heat for power generation. These projects have the potential of mitigating about 20 million tons of CO2e by 2030, according to MEE data. MEE authorities coordinated the draft methodology with the 2024 Draft Amendment of the Emissions Standard for Coalbed Methane/Coal Mine Gas to further incentivize coal mine methane utilization and reduction.

24 July 2024 – From January through July 2024, China agreed to various targets and measures to support the mitigation of fluorinated gas, including hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant recycling and recovery, including:

Prohibition of direct emissions of refrigerants and requires recycling, reuse, and harmless disposal of these substances during servicing and end-of-life processes: These prohibitions are included in the recently amended Regulation on the Administration of Ozone Depleting Substances (effective as of 1 March 2024, IGSD translation, here).

  • Implementation of these prohibitions faces challenges. According to official data from China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, only around 40% of waste TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners (ACs), and microcomputers were properly recycled and disposed of from 2012 to 2020. For the AC sector, Chinese researchers found that the total refrigerant emissions from ACs were 85 Mt CO2-eq in China in 2019; 79% of these refrigerant emissions arose from AC disposal.

Lifecycle refrigerant management in end-of-life recycling and disposal processes for cooling equipment:

  • On 23 January 2024, the China Ministry of Commerce, together with eight other national ministries and agencies, issued policy guidelines to promote the recycling of household appliances with the target of increasing the recycling rate of household appliances by 15% by 2025 from the 2023 levels. The guidelines aim to achieve the targets through measures such as building pilot recycling cities, cultivating the recycling industry, promoting best practices/models, and developing regulations, policies, and standards.
  • On 13 March 2024, China’s State Council issued an action plan to promote the large-scale replacement of equipment and consumer goods. This action plan sets the targets of doubling the rate of vehicle recycling and increasing the recycling rate of household appliances by 30% by 2027 from 2023 levels.
  • On 24 June 2024, the China Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced during its monthly press conference the next steps for implementation of the March 13 action plan mentioned above, including releasing the Work Plan for Regulating the Environmental Supervision of Waste Equipment and Consumer Goods Recycling and Disposal and carrying out special enforcement actions to control environmental pollution caused by the illegal dismantling of waste equipment and consumer goods.
  • On 24 July 2024, the China National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance announced around 300 billion RMB (13.77 billion USD) of ultra-long-term special government debt funding to support implementing the March 13 action plan mentioned above. The special government debt funding will be used to, among other things, support consumer goods replacement, recycling and disposal, including:
    • Subsidizing individual consumers in replacing their higher-emission gasoline fueled passenger cars (at and below level 3 of the national emission standard) or older new-energy passenger cars (registered on or before 30 April 2018) with selected new-energy (subsidy at 20,000 RMB (2,754.5 USD) per car) and selected new gasoline (subsidy at 15,000 RMB (2,065.9 USD) per car) fueled passenger cars;
    • Subsidizing individual consumers in purchasing energy-efficient household appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, and others, for 15% of the product sales price for appliances with level 2 energy efficiency; and for an additional 5% of the product sales price for appliances with level 1 energy efficiency (subsidy per product is up to 2,000 RMB (275.5 USD)); and
    • Providing 7.5 billion RMB (around 1 billion USD) in national government funding to support the recycling and disposal of waste electrical and electronic products in 2024.

These policies would benefit from additional measures that increase the demand for reclaimed refrigerants, such as a government edict that specific types of cooling equipment must use an increasing amount of reclaimed refrigerants to reduce the demand for newly produced fluorocarbon refrigerants and minimize the release of fluorocarbon emissions into the atmosphere. Additionally, strengthened monitoring, reporting, and enforcement of refrigerant emissions reduction and proper disposal requirements, incorporating best industry practices and technologies, will be needed to maximize the climate benefits of these policies and funding mechanisms.

Additional IGSD resources:

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